While coaching football and basketball for 26 years I had a lot of unusual and funny things happen. How was an assistant coach in football and by today’s standards I would be called the offensive coordinator I called all the offensive plays during the game.
High school was lucky enough to win three state championships in the 1970s but we won none sense. We have however one managed to make the championship game probably four or five times in the last 10 or 15 years.
Every month or so I get together with two of the coaches that were on the staff with me through the years and we discuss old times and all the crazy things that happened to us during those years. Once we discuss during one game a running back for the visiting team was running through the sidelines right at our bench and the three tacklers and the running back ran pile directly over me luckily I was not hurt and got up and finish the game but the sleeve of my windbreaker was torn almost completely off. I never could figure out why I didn’t just move and get out of the way until I saw the film the next day where one of the coaches used me for a matadors cape and let them held me there till they ran completely over me. He didn’t realize what he had done until he also saw the film the next day and the apologized.
We went to a station early in the morning to get refreshments it was late at night one of the coaches from another school was a little tipsy he started chastising a young worker who had very long hair and back in those days that wasn’t the style and when we started to leave the coach wasn’t ready to go but the young workers started chasing the car and begging us not to leave the man behind.
During one of the state championship games on our field the opponent came on the field by circling the field sideline to sideline all around dancing and chanting. Our players didn’t take to that very much and it really inspired them and we proceeded to win the game and win the state championship. Sometimes you can make a big mistake even before the game starts and in this case I think it was one that they realized they had made a mistake.
And another state championship game on a opponent’s home field we got off to a very good start when our running back return the opening kickoff for a touchdown and we never traveled during that game even though it was close. That was the last state football championship we have won.
After being in the restaurant for probably over an hour and discussing all these things that went on through the years a former student at a table next to us came over and said we needed to video our conversations and record them. They were some very good times and made all the years of coaching very enjoyable.
